Marie Belloc Lowndes

“ These kindly, commonplace words reminded her of Aunt Emmeline, and her old untroubled life in England, which now seemed so infinitely far away.
There are hours in life when everything but one central, concrete point of fear, suspense, or pain, disappears into nothingness. As a rule this state of mind lasts but a little while. If it goes on too long it kills the human being experiencing it, or breaks down the frail barriers between sanity and insanity.
As she lay in bed all through the afternoon which followed her walk with Beppo Polda, Lily Fairfield felt as if she were going mad. ”

“ Monte Carlo, with its white palaces, looked like a town in fairyland.
Up and up they went, along winding ways cut in the mountain side. Even M. Popeau was impressed by the steepness of the gradient, and the distance traversed by them.
All at once the taxi took a sudden turn to the left and drew up on a rough clearing surrounded by old, grey olive trees. The atmosphere was strangely still, and though it was a hot day, Lily suddenly felt chilly—a touch, no doubt, of the mountain air. There crept over her, too, a queer, eerie feeling of utter loneliness. ”

“ Beppo Polda had never seen in a woman’s face the look of physical repugnance he now saw in hers.
“You are not the pure angel that I thought you to be,” he said hoarsely. “You are keeping your kisses for another man. Is not that so, Lily? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then I will drive you and myself over the precipice! I have lived my life—I should not mind dying with you!” He was lashing himself up into more and more furious anger. “What a simple-minded fool I was! You are not the first English girl I have known, Lily. ”

“ The Countess began fighting as if for her life with one of the strong, agile men provided by M. Bouton. His companion was bending over Count Polda, and Lily, with trembling fingers, was following M. Popeau’s directions and trying to undo the insensible Angus Stuart’s collar and shirt. But since he had exclaimed, in a tone of infinite relief, “Be of good courage! He is not dead,” she no longer troubled as to what was happening about her.
And then, while all this was going on, Cristina vanished like a wraith, in the night. ”

“ Stuart realised that he loved everything about Lily—from every shining hair on her well-set head, down to the unpractical buckled shoes on her pretty little feet. He had supposed, in his simplicity, that when one fell in love the right words always came. But they did not come to him to-day, sitting there by her side in that solitary garden full of brilliant bloom and colour, with the marvellous blue sea spread out before and below them, as far as the eye could see.
There are men, many men, who are in love with love. They delight in falling in love ”

“ A week can pass like a flash, or it can seem an eternity. The first week of Lily Fairfield’s stay at La Solitude was, truth to tell, more like a month, and a very long month, than a week. She did her best to feel happy and comfortable, though it was a strange kind of life for a girl used to all the cheerful comings and goings of an English country town. After she had helped Cristina with the housework each morning there was absolutely nothing left to do during the rest of the day. ”

“ Uttering these words in a low tone, the Countess got up and shut the door, and, as she did so, the sleeve of Lily’s cloak was plucked by Cristina’s thin fingers, and she was gently and silently pushed towards the steep staircase.
Lily crept upstairs, opened her bedroom door, and lit a candle. She felt excited and ill at ease. She wished that horrible old man would go away. What could he have said or done to make his host and hostess look like that? Had he some hold over Beppo Polda? Lily’s heart was beating with a strange sense of vague disquiet and—yes—fear. ”

“ Most people living in Southern Europe have an instinct for shutting out the sun, even the delightful sun of a southern winter day. Still, to Lily’s English eyes the drawn blinds and closed shutters gave a deserted, eerie, unlived-in look to La Solitude.
As they all three stood there, M. Popeau and the driver having put down the luggage for a moment on the hard, dry grass, the first sign of life at La Solitude suddenly appeared in the person of a huge black and white cat. ”

“ Aunt Cosy felt so convinced that she could force her, Lily, to marry Beppo, and Beppo to marry Lily, that she had actually confided her intention to Cristina!
The girl hastened her footsteps. She felt embarrassed and angry. But somehow she did not believe that Beppo would lend himself to such a plot, if plot it was.
Perhaps something of what she was feeling showed in her face, for several times Cristina looked at her with a nervous, apprehensive look, though she said nothing.
Things seldom turn out as one expects in this world. ”

“ She had looked forward to his visit at La Solitude, but now she regarded it with indifference, mixed with a certain apprehension—an apprehension which had deepened since Cristina had uttered those curious, ambiguous words to the old nun. Cristina obviously hoped, with all her heart, that she would marry Beppo, and without any doubt the Countess hoped so too, now that she, Lily, had become residuary legatee to Cousin Rosa.
But somehow she no longer felt afraid of Aunt Cosy, and of Aunt Cosy’s plans. Even in England people often want a marriage to come to pass—and it just doesn’t! ”

“ He would always respect her, no doubt, but respect does not satisfy an Englishwoman, as it so often does a Frenchwoman or an Italian. Married to Beppo Polda,” concluded M. Popeau very solemnly, “our little Lily would wither like a flower put into a hot gas-oven.”
It was a quaint, almost a grotesque, simile, but somehow it impressed Angus Stuart deeply.
“From to-morrow,” went on M. Popeau, “Beppo Polda will be living at La Solitude. They will be together all day long, and he will make love to her all day long. His mother will help and abet him in every conceivable way possible.” ”

“ Seriously, Stuart, I have learnt something to-day which makes it quite clear to me that the Countess Polda—there is something sinister about that woman, I wish I could find out what it is—will make a tremendous effort to attach this English girl to her son. Should she succeed—I say it in all solemnity—that sweet child will soon be changed from a happy, joyous young thing into a grief-worn miserable woman! ”

“ Even so, as she followed the Marchesa into the lift, as she answered more or less mechanically Beppo’s gay little remarks and questions, she felt bewildered and oppressed.
Lily Fairfield had always lived among very straightforward, simple people—people, too, who were conventional, who never indulged in intrigue. And now she felt that as long as she lived she would never forget seeing the beautiful Marchesa Pescobaldi sink down on her knees and beg so earnestly, so pathetically, for forgiveness. ”

“ Perhaps it was the training of fastidious, old-fashioned Aunt Emmeline—perhaps it was something in the girl’s own nature—but ever since she had begun to think of such things, which was not so very long ago, Lily had always thought of a kiss between a man and a woman a sacred thing. No man had ever kissed her till Angus Stuart’s lips had first trembled on her lips a few minutes ago. ”

“ And then Lily bethought herself of what Aunt Cosy had said concerning the Marchesa Pescobaldi. “Do you believe in the Evil Eye,” she asked eagerly.
Somewhat to her surprise, M. Popeau hesitated.
“That is a curious question,” he said, “but I will answer you truly. I have long thought that there are in this strange world both men and women who can bring misfortune on those whom they do not like—just as there are human beings who radiate happiness and goodness.” ”

“ She shepherded the unresisting girl into the kitchen. Cristina’s eyes were swollen; she looked as if she had been crying all night.
“Now sit down,” commanded the Countess, “and eat what you call in England a good breakfast. It is right to show sorrow when something sad has happened, but do not look as if you yourself were dying! I do not want people to think that you, Lily, were in love with Mr. Ponting.”
Lily felt a shock of disgust. What a vulgar, heartless thing to say! She grew very red, and Aunt Cosy laughed harshly. ”

“ That, I need hardly tell you, is what many a man—nay, almost every man—does do at times with regard to a beautiful woman!”
“I can’t imagine any nice girl feeling like that about an entire stranger,” began Lily hesitatingly.
“What a wonderful word is that English word ‘nice’!” said M. Popeau reflectively. “It may mean such a very great deal, or nothing at all. It is—it is——”
“I know exactly what you mean,” exclaimed Lily. “The word ‘nice’ is certainly a camouflage word!”
“That’s it!” cried M. Popeau, delighted. “You’ve put it exactly, Mademoiselle! ”

“ Lily laughed. “I feel quite well again now. But sometimes La Solitude gets on my nerves. I can’t imagine how an energetic woman like Aunt Cosy can stand it as she does. She wouldn’t if she wasn’t so fond of her husband—they are wrapped up in one another. The real reason why she was so awfully angry with me about Mr. Ponting was because he was so upset. She really is a devoted wife!”
She felt that the man walking by her side had a deep, she thought an unreasonable, prejudice against the Countess Polda. ”

“ Captain Stuart told himself bitterly that women were all alike; also that he had made a mistake—that Lily was not the kind of a girl he had taken her to be. What would have been more easy than for her to snub Count Beppo? He remembered how she had snubbed dear old Hercules Popeau on their long journey from Paris, when the Frenchman, presuming on his age, had been perhaps a thought too familiar in his manner; and yet she allowed this—this bold brute to say what he liked to her!
“When I am at La Solitude,” went on Beppo in a low tone, “I shall be a good boy, and never come down to Monte Carlo! ”

“ The face of the Countess cleared, and even Uncle Angelo looked round at her, quite an eager look on his fat face.
“I’m very glad to hear that,” said the Countess heartily. “Tom is a very generous man. There is nothing low or mean about him.”
“He is goodness itself!” said Lily. And then she added a little shyly: “But the money is really mine, Aunt Cosy. Since my twenty-first birthday, which was the tenth of last July, I’ve had my own banking account. As a matter of fact, Uncle Tom wanted to give me a present, but he didn’t quite know what to get, so he gave me the fifty pounds.” ”

“ It looked to Lily as if he won every time—won, that is, something, somewhere. She couldn’t make it out!
“How does he do it?” she asked, puzzled. It was to her so strange that everybody didn’t play like Papa Popeau if he won every time.
“You see, he covers nearly the whole of the board,” muttered Captain Stuart. “He only loses right out when six numbers turn up out of the thirty-five. Even when zero comes he doesn’t lose everything, for the money he has on passe is only ‘put into prison,’ as they call it. Yes, it’s an ingenious system, and I often wonder more people don’t play it. ”

“ M. Popeau looked at him shrewdly.
“I do not press you to speak to her of your own feelings. That is a matter that every man must settle for himself. But I want you to put her on her guard. Beppo Polda is a charmer of women.” He saw that his words made the young Scotsman wince.
“It is a great mistake when one is thinking of things as serious as is this thing, to avoid looking at the truth. Beppo Polda, I repeat, is a charmer. And, unfortunately, he likes and admires Miss Lily. I go farther, I say that she is Beppo Polda’s ideal of what a man’s wife should be. ”

“ She knew that what the Marchesa said was perfectly true—Aunt Cosy did not like the Pescobaldis. But that was none of her business. When all was said and done she, Lily Fairfield, was really a stranger to them all.
The Marchesa was looking at her intently, evidently willing her to speak again.
“Of course, Aunt Cosy is a very peculiar woman,” began the girl awkwardly. “She is so devoted to Beppo that one feels she would be jealous of anyone he really cared for. The other day I could not help feeling that she was actually jealous of dear old Cristina!” ”

“ For a time they drove along in silence, and then Lily said affectionately: “I am sure the Mother Superior would agree with what I said to you to-day, Cristina—that God is far too good to allow any evil spirits to come near you.”
“No doubt she would say that,” answered Cristina sombrely, “but, like you, Mademoiselle, she is not in a position to know how God treats those who neglect to keep His laws.”
And then Lily suddenly remembered with dismay that when making her arrangements with the matron of the Convalescent Home she had forgotten all about Beppo’s visit to La Solitude! ”

“ Aunt Cosy spoke with a touch of impatience. “Cristina and I have got everything ready. I think you will have a good dinner. And so will our dear little Lily”—she drew near the girl, and put a big, powerful arm caressingly round Lily’s shoulders. “There was nothing to eat in the house when this dear child arrived! But to-night there is a banquet. The friend who is coming to dinner is going a long journey,” she said smilingly, “and so we want to give him what in England is called a good send-off.” ”

“ Every time that trolley was moved out from the outhouse the gate must of course be unlocked to let it through.
The water in the high, narrow zinc bath was still very hot, and Lily did not want to go back into the house to get a pailful of cold water. So she walked about, stamping her little feet to keep warm, for it was rather cold in this shadowed, outdoor room where no sun ever penetrated. At last she went close up to the trolley—she could think of no better name for it—and then she noticed that the big bicycle wheels were splashed with yellow mud. ”

“ As you are such a clever woman, as well as an unscrupulous woman,” he laughed disagreeably, “very often what you desire to happen does happen. But as regards Lily Fairfield you are destined to meet with failure.”
The Countess felt a shock go through her. Instinctively she put her hand on her heart. But she answered him at once, in a calm, good-humoured tone:
“You are such a child, Beppo! And like most young men you are vain and impatient. I never supposed that Lily would fall into your arms at once, as no doubt a great many pretty ladies have done ere now! ”

“ Turning the key in a door at the end of the corridor, Cristina stepped aside while Lily walked through into what struck her as a gloomy, and yet, in its way, a splendid room, and she realised suddenly that it was the windowless building she had seen from the lawn.
Through a circular skylight there fell a softened light on the beautiful old tapestry, moth-eaten in places, with which the walls were hung; and in the centre of the room was a round table, now spread with a lace tablecloth. ”

“ It’s absurd to say that it isn’t safe here—it’s absolutely safe! I’ve never met a man, woman or child who looked as if they would harm a fly! Before you came to La Solitude I constantly went down to Monte Carlo by myself, and more than once I came back during that strange change that takes place each afternoon, and which only seems to happen here—I mean when it’s daylight one moment and night the next——”
“You will have plenty of time for your good works when I’ve gone back to Rome,” said Beppo firmly. ”

“ It was the first mile-stone in their friendship—a golden moment in his life. He had always felt that a woman worth the winning must be wooed before she is won. He told himself, as they walked side by side across the great sunlit space, that he had made a very good beginning.
“Now I’m going to drive you up to La Solitude,” he exclaimed, with a touch of that masterfulness which somehow Lily liked—when it came from him.
He hailed the solitary open cab which stood in the shadow of the building, now a barrack, where gambling was first started in the Principality fifty years ago. ”

“ But supposing I were to tell you—to return to what we were talking about—that there are very, very few nice girls in the world?”
“I shouldn’t believe you!” cried Lily stoutly.
“Supposing I were also to tell you,” went on M. Popeau gravely, “that a great many women you would probably describe as nice do not only pick out a handsome man and feel that they would like to know him, but that they go further—that sometimes they actually make the first advances, and do strike up some kind of acquaintance with him? ”

“ Even the working folk of Monte Carlo do not go early to bed.
At last, when they were close to the end of the Galerie, the Countess exclaimed: “Here we are!” And Lily, looking up, saw a modest little shop, inscribed in gold letters, “Madame Jeanne.” In the window were displayed three simple-looking hats and a muslin gown, also a plain grey and white silk jumper, with regard to which, nevertheless, Lily told herself that it was one of the prettiest jumpers she had ever seen.
“Now, Lily,” said the Countess earnestly, “you may absolutely trust the taste of Madame Jeanne. ”